


Touching Hearts

by kayura_sanada



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pre-Slash, Protective Riku, hand holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-21 07:58:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12453018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayura_sanada/pseuds/kayura_sanada
Summary: Sora and Riku fight the Heartless in Bambi's world, only for Sora to receive an unexpected injury.AKA that short story where the writer insists on pretending Sora and Riku will ever actually travel together.





	Touching Hearts

 

Sora barely raised his keyblade in time to block an attack from the snarling red dog that launched itself at his face. Instead of letting go like a normal animal, it latched on and refused to let go, even when Sora shook the blade as hard as he could. He finally had to release it, making the dog heartless fall as the keyblade disappeared, and jump back, barely avoiding the gnashing teeth of a second, third, fourth heartless. He quickly called his keyblade back to him.

“Sora!”

He turned to Riku, only to see Riku point toward the shooter heartless they’d been chasing, with unnaturally long limbs and a dark blue, almost black body, its first fingers insanely long and shaped like barrels. Sora followed the line of one barrel across the edge of the forest and into the meadow. Just in front of a large rock, Bambi stood, ears down, frozen. Unmoving, as the dog heartless Riku and Sora had been unable to stop ran across the golden field toward the fawn.

“Bambi!” Sora raced forward, heedless of the dogs latching onto his legs, pulling him down. He threw a quick fireball behind him, just enough to get the worst of the weight off of him. The man in front of him shifted slightly, preparing for the recoil of his fire. Sora paled. “No!” He reached out for the gun.

It went off in his ear. He fell.

“ _Sora!”_

The shock of the ground against his back almost surprising him. Then there were the Crimson Howlers, their yellow muzzles leaning down, their jaws open – and then Riku, slashing at them so ferociously his lips curled into a snarl worse than the heartless. He looked nearly feral, his silver hair flying into his face. His ears buzzed. Riku’s mouth moved, but he couldn’t understand what he said. Deciding it best to deal with the danger first, he scrambled to his feet. He tried to heal, but the dogs had surrounded him, and finally he instead used the last bit of his magic to call forth lightning. He wished Donald was with him; the duck could have called forth his own lightning, and Sora could have healed while the enemies hesitated.

Riku turned to the Hollow Hunter, nearly cutting off the creature’s arm entirely as he swung, his shoulders trembling with rage. With both hands, Riku swung down, forcing the creature back. Instead of giving it the chance to get away, he chased after it, silver hair flying out behind him, shoes crunching into the grass at their feet.

Bambi.

Sora looked over his shoulder. Bambi got pushed by a stag – by his father, Bambi had told him earlier, his head ducking low as he smiled softly. Back before they’d been pulled off-kilter from the world yet again, and his and Riku’s deer forms had reverted back into their own, as the world they tried to save slowly split apart. It had been a shame; while Riku made a handsome lion and a formidable vampire, he’d been absolutely striking as a silver stag, antlers reaching high into the sky. Sora’s heart had skipped a beat at the sight.

The push from the deer got Bambi moving again, and they were off, racing away from the meadow and back into the safety of the trees. Sora went limp with relief before turning back to Riku. With Bambi safely gone, he thought he’d be able to focus on the battle, and they would end it and shore up the world with the combined power of their keyblades. They might even have the chance to meet up with Bambi later and speak with him.

He’d somehow forgotten about the horrible ringing in his ears, and what that might mean in the middle of a battle.

At first, he could focus on keeping the Howlers away from Riku. He swatted them like flies, releasing heart after heart, oddly beautiful blossoms of pink in the middle of their little storm. Riku went after the Hunter like a man possessed, shoving the heartless back before it could take over the duel, scratching along its arms, its flanks, to keep it from aiming its gun properly.

Sora tried to keep every Howler away, trying to make sure Riku didn’t have to fight them along with the leader. But then he got pushed from behind, shoved by a weight on his back, on his legs. Teeth clamped around his calf, and with an inarticulate cry, he was down again.

Howlers chomped at him, now that he was defenseless. He curled his hand around the keyblade and got a fistful of grass with it. Teeth wrapped around his wrist. He shouted. He thought he shouted. He couldn’t tell.

A whirlwind caught above his head, sweeping his bangs into his face, blasting the Howlers off their feet. He tried to stand, only for his wrist and legs to buckle beneath his weight. He grunted and placed all his weight on his good hand, barely managing to push himself to his knees before a gloved hand wrapped around his upper arm and yanked him up. He smiled his thanks to Riku.

The horrible ringing dulled to a loud, ominous hum, just in time for Riku to speak again. He didn’t catch most of it, but he distinctly heard the word, “go.” He frowned. “But Bambi–”

Riku just yanked at his arm. He nearly tripped over his own feet, and then they were running, the heartless nipping at their heels. Every step jarred Sora’s injuries, shooting frissons of agony up his legs. He hissed and gasped and, when he could hardly take it any longer, grabbed Riku’s hand and tugged. Riku turned, took one look at Sora, and wrapped his arm around him. With his free arm, he held out his keyblade, ready to defend Sora once more. “Can you heal?”

Sora blinked at the sound of Riku’s voice. He grinned widely. “I can hear you,” he said, the words barely breathing out his lips before he checked his dwindled magical reserves. He’d used so much trying to clear a path to the broken fragments of this world. They hadn’t been ready to have to turn around and head out, to have to search out the guardian usually placed to keep them away from the heartless tearing the world to shreds. Trying to get to Bambi in time had almost been worse, as they pushed themselves to their limits to reach the meadow before Bambi and his father were killed. Finally, he bit his lip and shook his head. “Not yet.”

Riku wasn’t pleased with Sora’s words, but he nodded. Slowly, he helped carry Sora further into the forest. Though the Howlers still chased them, the boss seemed to have left. Back to the Fragments, or still chasing down Bambi? If the latter, they had to get moving. Bambi was still a child, and as strong as his father was, a deer was little match for a gun, especially one wielded by a heartless.

He’d been surprised to learn that Bambi was a prince. When the fawn had helped him out, back when he’d been new to the idea of being a keyblade master and struggled more with finding his friends than with his destiny, Bambi had simply been a young friend with the courage to help him. He shouldn’t have been surprised, however. Simba had also been a prince, before he’d been king. Ariel was a princess. Heck, every world they’d gone to recently, trying to stave of the destroying of planets, had had princes and princesses targeted by the heartless. Why? They didn’t know yet. Maybe it was a coincidence, but Riku didn’t think so, and neither did Sora.

Bambi and his father being targeted was the same as Mulan’s world, where Sora and Riku and Donald had struggled to protect three princesses and their father, or when they returned to Simba’s world, where they protected him and his daughter – daughter! – from Zira and her army – and even when they caught up with Aladdin, about to get married and searching for his father. It echoed their efforts in New Orleans, where they’d defended Prince Naveen, and Arendelle, where they protected Princess Anna and her sister, Queen Elsa. It patterned itself after Corona and their meeting with Rapunzel, or Avalor when they met Elena, or DunBroch when they met Merida and her family. They even met an emperor-turned-llama and a princess-turned-race car driver. And every single time, the person they met turned out to be royalty in one way or another.

Riku managed to get him far enough away that, for a moment, they were able to rest. Riku bent to let Sora sit and rest his back against a tree. He could feel his magic slowly coming back to him, even as Riku knelt to one knee beside him and touched his cheeks, his ears. “Can you hear me?” Riku asked, and his body was tense. Sora nodded. Riku sighed, his body going limp, and rested his head against Sora’s. “How can I help?”

Sora knew it stung Riku’s pride to not be good at everything, to not be able to heal him when he was injured like this. It was likely why Riku had insisted they take Donald with them when they’d all chosen to split up. Since two keyblade wielders were necessary to resonate harmony back into the fragmented pieces of the worlds, it had been decided that the four masters would split up. Sora had thought Riku and Mickey would go together, since they’d become such close friends, but for some reason, Mickey had told Riku to join Sora, instead. There had even been some silent communication going on, stuff that Sora didn’t understand but had made Kairi giggle. Even now, she and Mickey and Goofy were traveling around, taking care of the worlds they themselves encountered. Sora wondered if they, too, had found the recurring theme of royalty, and if they had figured out what it meant.

Sora reached up, moving only his good hand, and wrapped his arm around Riku’s neck. He sighed and let himself breathe in the scents of his friend – rich earth and cool, midnight breezes off the sea. Somehow, Riku always carried their island with him. It, and the strength in Riku’s corded arms, allowed his rest. His magic finally returned, and he raised the hand resting on Riku’s back, calling his blade once more to him. With a single word, he healed himself. Riku pulled back slightly as Sora finished, looking him over and touching the edge of a few still-bleeding wounds. Sora had been too injured to heal himself completely with one spell. Not for the first time, he wondered if it was all right that they’d left Donald behind to catch up with the heartless. Donald himself had ordered it, but still. If Sora, together with Riku, had managed to take such damage, how would Donald fare against them?

“I’m all right,” he said, and smiled for his friend. Riku sighed and stood, reaching down a hand to help him up. Sora took it. “We should find Donald, then head for Bambi. I don’t think he’ll be left alone for long.”

Riku loked him up and down one more time, his lips dangerously thin. Those gloved hands clenched into fists. “You can’t throw yourself into danger like that,” he said. He almost seemed to spit the words out. “You can’t be so reckless! I can’t believe the others let you – what would happen if you...” He seemed angry with himself, unable to find the words he wanted to use. Sora just grinned at him.

“I know. But more than anything, I want to defend my friends. And I know I have you by my side, and Donald, and Goofy, and everyone else. I know you’ll protect me.”

Riku breathed hard. It looked like he wanted to say something more – perhaps yell at Sora for relying so heavily on them, for not protecting himself more. But it would be a waste of time; they all protected each other. As readily as Sora raced off to defend Bambi or Kiara or Riku, so would Riku lay down his life to protect Sora or Kairi or Mickey. They all protected their friends. It was who they were. It was what made them keyblade masters.

So Riku did what he always did when he worried about Sora. He tried to put distance between them. He stepped away as if to start out their search for Donald. But Sora wouldn’t let him just run off. He grabbed his friend’s arm and moved close. Almost of their own volition, his fingers slid between Riku’s tracing their way down the smooth fabric of Riku’s gloves. His heart skipped in his chest, hammered hard enough to break his ribs. He felt giddy.

Riku gripped his fingers back. The older teen led them forward, not looking back to Sora for even a moment. But Sora could see the red tingeing the backs of Riku’s ears. His heart soared.

He was very glad that, for whatever reason, King Mickey had decreed they go on this journey together.


End file.
